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When seeking a medical diagnosis, it's typically not the best
idea to try and find it on the Internet. Regardless of the
symptoms searched, the end result is usually some random chat
board – hello, Yahoo Answers – where every innocuous itch is
interpreted as evidence of something sinister.

Bottom line: Don't try to diagnose your illnesses over the
Internet.

At least, that was the bottom line. Google may be
changing the conventional wisdom at play here.

That's because the Mountain View, Calif.-based company is
piloting a new feature that allows users who lookup health
symptoms or conditions on its search engine to video chat
directly with a doctor, without leaving the search results page.

The trial run – which was first spotted by Reddit user Jason
Houle when looking up knee pain – is currently limited to
Massachusetts and California, the Guardian reports. Houle
posted a screenshot of the trial program on Reddit.

"When you’re searching for basic health information – from
conditions like insomnia or food poisoning – our goal is provide
you with the most helpful information available. We’re trying
this new feature to see if it’s useful to people,” a Google
spokeswoman confirmed to the Guardian. The trail video
chat feature will be part of Google's Helpouts, the platform that
allows users to interact with experts in various fields via live
video chat.

For now, as Google stipulated in the above screenshot, visit
costs will be covered by the company. In the future, however,
users would theoretically pay for the ability to receive a
diagnosis over video chat with a doctor rather than, say, scour
Yahoo Answers.

Ninety-nine dollars a month, however, is a prohibitive price for
many Americans. While it remains to be seen where Google will
take its pilot program – both in terms of price and ease of use –
the service has the potential to enrich our online health
experience by discouraging unnecessary doctor's appointments
while encouraging necessary ones. Virtual appointments, of
course, will always have their limitations, but a speaking with a
doctor over video chat about the cause of your knee pain is a
probably a safer bet than sifting through online forums for a
diagnosis.